Prairie Thunder off to Allan Cup

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/03/2018 (2233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the premier senior hockey teams in Canada for the past decade or more, the Southeast Prairie Thunder, will be making yet another trip to the Allan Cup Senior AAA National Championships next month.

This year’s championships are being held April 9-14 at Rosetown, Saskatchewan.

The Prairie Thunder swept their longtime rivals, the Ile des Chenes North Stars, three straight in the Manitoba playdowns for the right to compete in the 2018 Allan Cup at Rosetown.

Southeast wrapped up the series with a 6-3 victory last Sunday at the Max Bell Centre at the U of M. The Prairie Thunder had won the two earlier games by scores of 4-2 and 5-3.

In Sunday’s clincher, tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, the Thunder put the game away in the third outscoring the North Stars 4-1.

Carson Dubchak paced the Thunder with three goals while Brett Dudar, Del Cowan and Reid Gow added singles. Steve Christie made 26 stops in net for the Thunder.

Replying for the North Stars were Colin Baudry, Tanner Harms and Cole Brunet. Steph Pattyn and Brennan Ritchie each picked up two assists for the Stars. Matt Krahn made 36 saves for the North Stars.

The Prairie Thunder are a collection of players from around the province. The only two local players are Tim Plett and Ian White. Also, there is manager Marv Kornelsen, the founder and mainstay of this team over the years.

Making their ninth trip to the Allan Cup national championships, the Thunder are two-time winners, winning in 2012 at Lloydminster and 2015 at Clarenville, NL.

Steinbach has twice hosted the Allan Cup national finals, in 2009 and 2016, as the Bentley Generals defeated the Prairie Thunder in overtime in both those national finals.

The Prairie Thunder will open play in the six-team Allan Cup tournament on Apr. 9 against the Bethune Bulldogs from Saskatchewan. Also competing are the host Rosetown Red Wings, the Atlantic champion Elsipogtog Hawks from New Brunswick, and still to be determined representatives from Albert and Ontario.